I work with someone who is extremely challenged geographically. Thought the Titanc sank in Alaska because that's the only place with icebergs. Thought you could drive across to England/Europe. Some people should never be allowed out of grade school.

If Alberta was the only Canadian province in the list, then it was a mistake. But it might have been deliberate. We keep a library of common code, among which is a state drop-down for web apps. Someone asked why the Canadian provinces were mixed in, and the dismissive answer was "We treat Canada like it's the 51st state." Sorry, Canadians. Americans are nothing if not arrogant.

As an outsider (British - although with a wife from Detroit), I am aware of a generalisation that that lists arrogance and geographic ignorance high on the list of American talents. However, a good screening tool (with decent sensitivity and specificity) that I have noticed is ownership of a (stamped) passport.Just an observation.

I wonder if you say you're from Canada, they list Alberta as a choice, or which of the US states are inserted as a choice. Or, maybe, in this case, Alberta is included as a kind of state of the mind, such as sort of an Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary feeling when one is starting on the second day of the cross-Alcan route to Alaska. Yes, I'm in a Alberta 'state' versus a Yukon Territory 'state' implying a civilized hopefulness vs. a feeling that the trip is getting a little longer and primitive.

Good one, Admiral .....I once worked with a woman who had literally never left her county of residence here in North Carolina, even for vacation. We took in passport apps, among other things, and I had to witness her ignorance twice -- both times calling the Department of State's national help line, asking a) what the requirements were for a passport to British Columbia (the "British" threw her off) and b) why the nation of Buenos Aires wasn't listed in our guidebook. Thanks to her, I now have TMJ.

As a Canadian I am not surprised that Alberta has become your newest state. I'm sure they are celebrating in Calgary today! Hopefully Alberta can be moved next to Texas and BC and Saskatchewan can swell up a little so we can maintain our east-west continuity.

Alberta is a lovely place, I hope you guys enjoy it! Check out Banff (or whatever you guys decide to rename it), it's really amazing. The only downside is that you now also own our Prime Minister, so we are going to have to think about that one eh?

57 states... so which ones are you taking and which ones are you leaving behind? Can I make some suggestions?

I grew up along the border and on more than one occasion was handed a $20 as a tip since our "funny money" or "monopoli money" wasn't worth anything (at the time we were pretty close to par). I just smiled and said thanks since that was more than I was making an hour at the time. Ignorance/arrogance can be costly.

Heh. I live in Alberta and have heard it said that the United States counts Canada's oil reserved among its "domestic" reserves, meaning they think our oil is their own. When the youngest living Kennedy came to Canada to preach environmentalism he called the United States "Canada's 13th province". We didn't have the heart to tell him that Canada has TEN provinces, not 12.

Welcome to my whining!

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